Buckingham Palace statement in full: Read the royal family’s succinct response to Harry and Meghan interview

Buckingham Palace has issued a short statement in response to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Issued on behalf of the Queen on Tuesday evening, it said that the royal family is “saddened” by the experiences of Harry and Meghan.

It also acknowledges the allegations of racism from the couple are “concerning”, and will be addressed by the family privately.

During the interview, which was broadcast in the UK on Monday night after airing in the US on Sunday, the Sussexes laid bare their reasons for leaving their royal duties, making a series of dramatic revelations.

Buckingham Palace statement: in full
The Bucking Palace statement on behalf of the Queen said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

What did Harry and Meghan say in the interview?
The Duke and Duchess’s bombshell comments on a series of sensitive issues have dominated headlines this week:

Suicidal thoughts

The Duchess of Sussex admitted to having suicidal thoughts as she struggled with life in the royal family.

She said: “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember how [Harry] just cradled me.”

Meghan said that she went to senior people within the institution to ask for help: “I remember this conversation like it was yesterday, because they said, ‘my heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution’.”

Racism within the royal family

Meghan said she was told Archie would not receive security after he was born, and that questions were asked by someone in the royal family about the colour of his skin.

In those months when I was pregnant…we have in tandem the conversation of, you won’t be given security, [he is] not gonna be given a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

She refused to say who she had had those conversations with, adding: “I think that would be very damaging to them,” although it was later confirmed that it was neither the Queen or Prince Philip.

The Duke of Sussex added that none of his relatives ever spoke out in support of Meghan following the racism she experienced in the media.

Harry’s relationship with Prince Charles

Harry confessed he felt let down by his father, the Prince of Wales, and that “there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened”.
He said: “I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, (and) Archie’s his grandson.

On reports that Meghan made the Duchess of Cambridge cry.

Newspapers reported that Meghan reduced Kate Middleton to tears at Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress fitting.
Meghan described this as “a turning point”, stating that the reverse had actually happened and that it was Kate who had made her cry.

She added that she did not want to be “disparaging to anyone” and said that Kate had apologised with flowers and a note “to take accountability”.
Megan said the incident was not a “confrontation”, but that it was “hard to get over” being blamed for something she did not do.

On the royal family vs the institution

Meghan said: “There’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution; those are two separate things and it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me.